Nomura Hires Slater as Australia Head of Industrials, Sponsors

Nomura Holdings Inc. has hired former Macquarie Group managing director Gordon Slater as its head of industrials and sponsors in Australia, according to an internal memo seen by MoneyBeat.

Mr. Slater, who is based in Sydney, spent a decade at Macquarie where he advised across sectors like oil and gas, property, retail and financial services. He will report to Nomura’s head of Australian investment banking Ian Maxton, staff were told in the memo.

Mr. Slater’s appointment signals Nomura remains committed to its fixed income and investment banking divisions in Australia, following a restructure of its equities business in June, which resulted in significant job cuts. It follows the appointment of former J.P.Morgan banker Nicholas Ellmore as an executive director within Nomura’s debt origination and leveraged finance team.

According to financial accounts lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Nomura Australia reported a 23.8 million Australian dollar (US$21.5 million) loss for the year ended March 31, a figure that doesn’t seem to have weighed too heavily on its global performance. For the quarter ended June 30, Japan’s largest brokerage reported a net profit of ¥65.89 billion (US$667 million).